The Town of Bancroft has received a major financial hand from the provincial government in the push to make the communication lines that much faster in the area. Under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs’ Rural Connections program, the Town of Bancroft will receive a grant of $152,967 that will go towards the expansion of broadband Internet throughout the greater Bancroft area.
According to the Town, the funds will improve Internet connection for those who reside within the south boundary of the urban center of the Town of Bancroft, expanding out to residents in the L’Amable area. Faraday Township will also benefit from this project with some of their wires falling within the boundary of the funding.
Mayor of the Town of Bancroft Lloyd Churchill sees this funding as a great first step towards making North Hastings a broadband zone, something that he feels has been direly needed by all who reside and do business in the area.
“Conditions in the area have been on and off for a number of years, especially for people further down Highway 62,” says the Mayor. “I hope that this is a big step in the right direction so we can see this kind of accessibility right down to Belleville in the near future.”
Churchill sees this expansion of high-speed Internet as becoming a huge benefit not only for the households that reside within the affected area, but also to many of the businesses who he feels can only do better with this technology. “Just because we are in a rural community doesn’t mean that we don’t deserve to benefit from this technology anyway that we can,” he says. “The benefit of doing business anywhere in the area, and not worrying about the Internet connection being too slow, will make it easier for all businesses here, as well as cottagers who want to stay in touch while in our area.”
As for future expansion of the broadband Internet lines, Churchill sees this funding as the Town of Bancroft’s big step, now he looks to Hastings County to continue their hard work towards making the entire county high-speed accessible.
“The initiative from Hastings County is really strong to bring high-speed for all in the area,” he says. “If they continue to push for this, it looks like it will happen for the whole area in the near future.”
The funding from the provincial Rural Connections program covers one-third of the funding to improve the lines in the Town of Bancroft. The municipality is currently in negotiations with Bell Alliant to become the installer and the two-thirds partner for the project. The hope is that the entire area will be completely wired for high-speed Internet by mid-2009.
The Town of Bancroft was not the only municipality that received funding for high-speed expansion, as many surrounding areas will also be receiving grants for the same endeavor. These include the Township of Greater Madawaska receiving $230,413 and the County of Haliburton taking in $1 million to wire a large portion of the area.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Dan Schell
Quelle/Source: Bancroft This Week, 10.12.2008
